What is special about the ceiling of the Pantheon?
PANTHEON DOME Measuring 142 feet in diameter, the domed ceiling was the largest of its kind when it was built. At to the top of the dome sits an opening, or oculus, 27 feet in width. The oculus, which has no covering, lets light—as well as rain and other weather—into the Pantheon.
What keeps the dome of the Pantheon from collapsing?
What keeps the massive dome of the Pantheon from collapsing? The use of wood instead of concrete or stone.
What is supporting the dome of the Pantheon?
This wall can be thought of structurally as a series of concrete piers separated at floor level by 8 very large niches equally spaced along the inner perimeter. The thick wall acts much like a buttress in supporting a thrust from the dome.
What is inside the Pantheon?
The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian Kings and poets. The marble floor, which features a design consisting of a series of geometric patterns, is still the ancient Roman original.
What’s the hole in the Pantheon called?
The hole (oculus), 7.8 meters in diameter, is the only source of light and is the connection between the temple and the gods above. Rain occasionally falls through it, but the floor is slanted and drains the water when it hits the floor… but in practice, rain seldom falls inside the dome. 5.
How does the Pantheon dome stay up?
What are the holes at the top of the Pantheon?
4. The most fascinating part of the Pantheon is its giant dome, with its famous hole in the top (The eye of the Pantheon, or oculus). The dome was the largest in the world for 1300 years and to present remains the largest unsupported dome in the world.
How was the roof of the Pantheon built?
It was made of concrete mixed with volcanic tuff (tufo) and pumice stone. Externally the bottom part of the hemispherical dome (corresponding to the first two rings of coffering) is encased by a thick upper section of the wall which contains the outward thrust of the dome.
Who originally built the Pantheon?
statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa
Pantheon, building in Rome that was begun in 27 bc by the statesman Marcus Vipsanius Agrippa, probably as a building of the ordinary Classical temple type—rectangular with a gabled roof supported by a colonnade on all sides.
What causes holes in Colosseum?
Looking at the Colosseum, it can be noticed how there are holes in the structure. Those holes are due to the removal of iron clamps throughout the centuries. When the Colosseum was a ruin, iron clamps were all taken out and used somewhere else. Due to that collapse, the whole structure became weaker (2).
Did the Colosseum have a roof?
Incredibly, the massive Colosseum was covered with a roof that protected spectators from the relentless Italian sun, allowing them to settle back and drink in a day of blood-sport in shady bliss.
Is there glass at the top of the Pantheon?
There are no windows inside but the large oculus! The Pantheon now contains the tombs of the famous artist Raphael and of several Italian Kings and poets.
What is the hole in the dome of the Pantheon?
The huge 30ft hole built into the dome of Rome’s Pantheon has mystified minds for centuries.
Is the Pantheon in Rome’s Pantheon a giant sundial?
The ‘oculus’: Scientists believe that the 2,000-year-old Pantheon in Rome acts as a giant sundial A new study claims that the purpose of the 30ft-wide hole in its roof was to direct a beam of light to illuminate the entrance at the exact moment the emperor entered the dome
How does the Pantheon get its natural light?
The opening is the only source of natural light for the 2,000 year-old structure, but at the same time it also lets in rain and there are tiny holes in the floor which act as a drain. The ‘oculus’: Scientists believe that the 2,000-year-old Pantheon in Rome acts as a giant sundial
Where is the Pantheon located in Rome?
PANTHEON – TEMPLE TO THE GODS. Situated in the charming Piazza della Rotonda, the Pantheon is the most intact of all Roman structures in the Italian capital. With a graceful dome perched high above a massive circular chamber, it is lit by sunlight streaming through the 30ft hole at the dome’s apex.